¦ July 13, 2011
GUTS AND (THE PURSUIT OF) GLORY
Sprintcar Racer Danny Pollock

  The dictionary defines “courage” as the ability to face danger, difficulty, or pain without being overcome by fear or being deflected from a chosen course of action.  In other words, “guts”.

Danny Pollock, from Bainbridge, Indiana, drives a sprint car.  By definition, Danny has guts.  He happens to be paralyzed from the chest down.

In 2001, go-kart racer Danny Pollock was moving up to the sprint car level when he was severely injured in a recreational ATV accident.  After some time at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, the famed facility known for treating injured racers, he moved on to the Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana (RHI), where he met Sam Schmidt.  The uniquely skilled staff at those two medical facilities repaired the physical damage as much as possible and prepared Danny for life in a wheelchair. Sam inspired him to pursue his dream.  Says Danny, “he told me to never give up and do as much as you can and you will succeed in what you want from life.  If Sam can run an IndyCar team with no legs or hands I can do a lot even though I’m paralyzed from the chest down.”

What sets Danny apart from the hundreds of other sprint car drivers out there chasing the dream is that Danny does it on almost no budget, and he does it using hand controls. 

The cockpit of a modern sprint car is a confining space.  The driver sits bolt upright within the car’s narrow frame rails, surrounded by the roll cage, and strapped tightly into a seat that holds the driver on all sides.  Just climbing into his race car is a unique challenge for Danny, but worth the struggle.  “I was reborn in 2003 the first time I got back in the race car.  I felt like I just came back alive again.” 

Utilizing rods, cables and hydraulic cylinders, and after a lot of trial and error, a team from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology was able to design and build a workable system of hand controls for a sprint car. Danny says, “I squeeze the gas when I need to and I squeeze the brake when I have to.  It’s a handful.”

Danny Pollock has the guts and initiative to follow his dream of racing sprint cars.  His greatest challenge is not his physical limitations – he doesn’t believe in those. His greatest challenge is finding enough financial backing to race.

“Racing is what I love.  Nothing more.  Just gotta race.  If I can’t do that, I don’t know what I would do.  I’d just sit at home.  No, I can’t do that.  That won’t work.  Not for me at least,” says Danny.  No wonder he and Sam Schmidt found they had a lot in common!

While he relentlessly pursues financial backing to continue racing, word of Danny’s accomplishments as a sprint car driver who uses hand controls has spread far and wide.  He has become an authority on hand controls and vehicle modifications to accommodate disabilities.  He consults by email with people around the world who seek his advice.  One of those is Mark Dowdy, billed as America’s first paralyzed late model driver.

Racers traditionally offer hero cards to fans, showing the driver’s accomplishments and sponsor information.  Danny gets requests for hero cards from as far away as Australia.  By example, he inspires anyone in a wheelchair to never give up. In the words of thunder roadster racer Ray Elliott, “Danny is a one in a million type of person who is willing to help anyone.  Danny is the type of person this world needs a lot more of.”

For more information about Danny Pollock racing a sprint car with hand controls, visit his website at www.dannypollock.com.